Cruachain
Cruachain or Cruachan [ 'kruaxinʴ ], actually Ráth Cruachain ( Old Irish rà [i] th [ Raːθ ] - ring wall), younger Cruachu , was the name of the royal seat of Connacht in Irish mythology . The name derives from Crochen, a Sidhe (fairy) and servant ETAINS , ago.
mythology
In the Ulster Cycle , Cruachain is mentioned as the ruling seat of King Ailill mac Máta and Queen Medb , formerly also the castle of Medb's sister Clothru . This is where Connacht's war against Ulster over the bull Donn Cuailnge, described in the Táin Bó Cuailnge (“The Robbery of Cattle by Cooley ”) begins . Cruachain is also the focus of Remscéla (pre-narration to Táin Bó Cuailnge) Echtrae Nerai (“Nera's Adventure”), which tells how Nera warns the residents of the village of a danger from the Otherworld .
localization
Cruachain is identical to Rathcroghan in County Roscommon . A large number of archaeological sites are located here. The Rathcroghan mound is considered the place of the former royal castle and one of the entrances to the world of the Sidhe . From the hills and crevices located there Relignaree (Irish Reilig na Rí , "Cemetery of Kings") and Uaigh na gCat ("Cave of Cats" - cats are underworld animals !) The creatures of the otherworld come out of Samhain . Therefore, the King of Connacht was forbidden ( geís ) to go to Samhain around the royal seat of Cruachain.
See also
literature
- Helmut Birkhan : Celts. Attempt at a complete representation of their culture. Publishing house of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-7001-2609-3 .
- Bernhard Maier : Lexicon of Celtic Religion and Culture (= Kröner's pocket edition . Volume 466). Kröner, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-520-46601-5 .